Has anyone had difficulty in getting "independent" financial advice?

The Central Bank of Ireland has published a package of new rules to be included in the Consumer Protection Code 2012 on the payment of commission to financial intermediaries, involving new requirements on transparency for consumers and prohibitions on certain types of commission arrangements. The new rules aim to ensure transparency of commission arrangements between financial intermediaries (such as brokers and financial advisers), and product producers (such as banks and insurance firms), and to minimise the risk of conflicts of interest relating to commissions arising when consumers are getting financial advice from the intermediary.

Has anyone found it difficult to get independent financial advice or have you found advice that you got compromised?

Brendan

Brendan Burgess said:

Has anyone found it difficult to get independent financial advice or have you found advice that you got compromised?

Brendan

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I have certainly found that I am paying a broker on-going commissions as well as an upfront fee. At the least this was done in an opaque way, at worst I was misinformed.

The next thing I have discovered is that putting this right is not straightforward. If I were to start again with another broker I would face the upfront fee all over again.

By my reckoning, there won't be a single financial advisor in the country that will be able to call themselves independent from 31st March onwards.

I like the move by the Central Bank because I want more transparency. I think everyone should see an Financial Advisor once a year so make sure that you are on track or that you are at least aware of how you are spending your money...The problem is that when you have little money to begin with paying to see a Financial Advisor is a big deal - that €500? (Guess) is a month's food shopping - so if I do decide to spend that money I want to be 100% sure that my Financial Advisor is working for me and not working for someone else. I think that's only fair. I demand the same when I visit any other professional.

Live Well said:

- so if I do decide to spend that money I want to be 100% sure that my Financial Advisor is working for me and not working for someone else. I think that's only fair. I demand the same when I visit any other professional.

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I don't disagree with the sentiment but I'll be honest - I've never asked my Doctor why they are prescribing a branded medicine (or whether there is a generic available). Hardly anybody does. And there has been history of conflicts in that industry

Live Well said:

I think everyone should see an Financial Advisor once a year so make sure that you are on track or that you are at least aware of how you are spending your money.

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This is not what Financial Advisors do in my experience or understanding.

If that is what you want from them, you are wasting your money even if its only €50.

Get a budgeting app and DIY, maybe even get a friend to look it over.

What Financial Advisors do is sell financial products.

I found it very diffcult to find independent advice. Anyone who is self-employed or needs to make decisions around their pension themselves (i.e. not someone who is part of a large companies pension scheme) is really vulnerable to exploitation by "Financial Advisors". It is actually shameful that it has taken so long for a rule like this to be implemented but glad to see a move in the right direction. Even large, supposedly reputable business like leading banks were doing this.

In the October issue of Irish Broker, the CEO of Brokers Ireland says -

".....the term independent may well simply disappear, meaning the Regulator will not have created an independent/non-independent service differentiation, but may instead have succeeded in removing the label 'independent' from the market.....

Fair analysis, the other crucial component of independent advice and a key driver of choice and competition in the market, may also be weakened by this move. Some brokers may, unfortunately, question the value of undertaking the additional work in providing fair analysis of the market if they cannot describe themselves as independent."

Apparently, the new CB rule ..."takes away consumer choice of how they pay for independent advice."